Out of the fire came a Raven
by Raven's Priestess
Summary: Raven manages to escape Azarath but instead of going to the world of Teen Titans, she is thrown into the world of Avatar: The last Airbender. Follow Raven as she adapts to this world and helps her new - found friends with their many adventures. Raven/Zuko, Aang/ Toph, Sokka/..., Katara/...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Here's the start of my new story. If anyone has any questions about anything about the story let me know in a review and I'll address it in the next chapters author's note.

**[-(*)-]**

**Water.**

**Earth.**

**Fire.**

**Air.**

**My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days, a time of peace. When the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. **

**But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. **

**Only the Avatar master of all four elements and could stop the ruthless Firebenders.**

**But when the world needed him most, he vanished.**

**A hundred years have passed and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help the fight the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look out for our tribe.**

**Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads, and that the cycle was broken. **

**But I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow the Avatar will return to save the world.**

**[-(*)-]**

**Out of the fire came a Raven**

…***…**

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 1: The Boy in the Iceberg**

Raven woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside her window. The birds that lived in Azarath were extremely bright colored and their songs often filled the air. With no natural predators they had become fairly friendly with the people who inhabited Azarath.

As Raven slowly began to wake up, a cold shiver ran down her spine. It was her birthday, her fifteenth birthday. That thought alone filled her with dread.

Today was the day that was prophesized to be the end of the world. Or at the very least the end Azarath as she knew it. Raven wished that she was only being melodramatic, but unfortunately, she wasn't. Her father Trigon, a literal Demon, was prophesized to travel to this world using Raven to ground his portal to destroy her world and then after he was done, he would move through the rest of the universe.

Raven knew this from a young age and was resigned to the fact that she would die today. While the prophecy itself didn't say she would die, it was assumed that the use of that much power would result in her death.

But before Raven could even get out of bed her mother appeared at the doorway.

"Raven, come quickly. Get dressed and grab your cloak." Without any other statements she left the room.

Raven, not one to disobey her mother, quickly got dressed into a black jumpsuit, black knee – high lace up boots, black gloves, and a black cloak with a purple interior. She then quickly arranged her dark purple, almost black, looking hair into a single French braid that ended at her lower back.

Within a couple minutes she was out the door and found her mother throwing things into a rucksack. Raven paused at the doorway and then called for mother "Mama, what are you doing?"

"I found a way to save you. You will need this. Now follow me." Aurelia shoved the now full rucksack at Raven.

"But this was prophesized, how can you-"

"Shush, don't argue. Now sit here." Aurelia then gently shoved her daughter to sit in the center of circle that was drawn on the floor with ash.

Raven look up at her mother's almond eyes, they were red and she looked exhausted, but incredibly determined. Aurelia's long black hair was tied into a bun, her white robe had smudges, of what Raven assumed was ash, and her always present locket laid on the outside of her clothes. In the locket it held a picture of the two of them laughing. While Azarath did not have many earthly possessions on it, there were a couple that were permitted. One of those things was a polaroid camera. Ever since Raven was born, Aurelia had taken a picture of the two of them every year. The picture in the locket currently held a picture of Raven and her mother making bread. They were both smiling covered in flour and full of life.

As Raven was consumed by the memory, she was suddenly brought back to reality by the thought of her father. "What about Trigon?"

Aurelia turned from where she was standing by a table and said with a vengeful smile "Don't you worry about him. I finally figured out a way to get rid of him for good."

Before Raven could ask any more questions the ground began to shake. The prophecy was beginning.

"No time for questions Raven. Always know that I love you. Live your life to fullest and never stop fighting for what you believe in." Aurelia then took the locket off her neck and put it over Ravens. She smiled one more time at Raven and then she started to read off of a paper that Raven hadn't noticed before.

Raven sat there, stunned. Not knowing what to do. She was holding onto the rucksack her mother handed to her and she began to see a black dome begin to form around her. As the dome grew a pressure in her forehead began to form.

"Mom, no. Stop-"

Before she could say anything else the pressure on her forehead began to be unbearable and she quickly lost consciousness.

…*…

Raven woke up laying on snow.

She had never felt snow before, it was really cold. But she knew that, it was just weird how cold it was. As she sat up, she saw something purple lying on the ground in front of her. It was her chakra stone. It must have fallen off during the…

Wait.

Where was she?

Raven quickly picked up the stone and put it her locket. She then put the locket inside her shirt. Raven then grabbed her rucksack and began to look around.

She was surrounded by ice and snow. It was a completely foreign landscape. Raven tried to think about where she might be. All she could think about was the stories her mother told her about earth. Her mother had tried to explain the world in which she came from. She told her about how she never knew her birth family and was raised by adoptive parents. They had lived in the city of San Francisco, and as a person of Chinese descent she was able to feel a connection with her community. Her parents had tried to control her and Aurelia did not respond well to that. And by the age of 18 she had joined a cult that focused a bit too much on the darker side of magic.

One thing led to another, and Raven was born. She was half-demon, half-Chinese.

Raven continued with this line thought until she saw something move across the water.

There was a boat of some sort. No, it was a canoe. She saw a boy and girl in a canoe. The boy was using a spear to fish, or least he was attempting to and the girl was looking at the water.

She then heard, just barely, the boy say "It's not getting away from me this time."

Raven let a sigh of relief; she could understand them. That would have made this whole experience ten times harder. She wondered if her mother's magic allowed her to immediately understand the language of the land, but unfortunately, she could never get that answer.

Raven just stood there and continued to observe them as they flowed along.

The boy then continued on with his one – sided conversation. "Watch and learn Katara. This is how you catch a fish."

But then, the girl, Katara, raised her hand in a flowy manner and a ball of water that contained a fish rose out of the ocean.

She was controlling the water.

Raven was fascinated by this display of magic. She wondered if there was anyone in this world that had powers like her. Raven had magic that was fairly unpredictable. It was only due to the strict regimen that Raven was raised in that she was able to achieve such control. Raven's powers were telekinetic, mainly. She did have some shape shifter ability but she primarily used her telekinesis.

The girl in the canoe then called for the boy, who's name, she assumed was Sokka, "Sokka, Look!"

"Shh, Katara. You're gonna scare him away. Mmm. I can already smell it cooking."

"But, Sokka, I caught one."

The girl then moved the bubble of water over, to what Raven assumed was a basket, but then the boy moved his spear back and ended up popping the bubble. The water went all over the boy and the fish quickly jumped into the ocean. This immediately set the children off, they began arguing with one another.

Raven could help but laugh.

The children went from bickering at one another to looking up at Raven.

Their eyes quickly found hers.

Raven raised her hand and said "Hey, how's it going?"

Sokka looked at her blankly but Katara was able to recover "Uhh, hi. I wasn't Waterbending by the way."

Sokka then looked frantically between his sister and Raven. "Yeah no, it was a weird artic phenomenon. It happens all the time here."

Raven smiled at their horrible lying. She assumed that magic was not widely accepted here and played along. "Okay, I saw nothing. "

"Uhh, so where you going?" The girl asked, gesturing to her rucksack.

Raven looked down at the rucksack in her hand, then back to the girl.

"Wherever the nearest town is?" Raven replied with a shrug.

Sokka then looked at Katara, then back at Raven. "We don't have any town's around here. But our village is not too far away. Do you want to come with us?"

Raven inwardly sighed in relief, she then smiled at them and said "Sure."

The boy and girl then began rowing the canoe to edge of the ice sheet that Raven was on. Once they were parked beside it, Raven walked over and set her bag in the canoe.

"So stranger, what's your name?" Sokka asked while raising his hand in way of helping her into the canoe.

Raven took his hand and gently stepped in. "Raven, what's yours?"

She felt fairly confident that she knew both their names, but she decided to follow normal introductory social norms. The girl, looking pretty peeved all of a sudden, replied "I'm Katara, he's my brother, Sokka. What are you doing here? Are you a Fire Nation spy?"

Sokka once again quickly looked at Raven then at Katara, realization brightening his face. "Hey, are you? You kind of look Fire Nation?"

Raven stared at them, looking confused "Wait, what? No, I'm not a Fire Nation spy. Look, just take me back to your village and I'll leave. I don't plan on staying, and I promise I won't mention anything."

Raven didn't want any trouble, and these children were seeming more and more paranoid by the minute.

Sokka glared at her for a minute, and then said "I'm going to trust you. But I don't want any funny business. Got it?"

"Sure." Raven replied as she rolled her eyes.

As they began to move, to what Raven assumed was their village, she felt presence on her back. Katara had been staying quiet behind her. When Raven glanced back at her all she could see was silent judgement in her bright blue eyes. Raven internally sighed, yep, this was going to be a long boat ride. But before they could argue even more, they were caught by a current.

Sokka then turned back to them and yelled "Hold on tight." And began paddling frantically.

"Go left." Katara yelled, but it was already too late. The canoe was now bouncing off of the icebergs that littered this section of the ocean, until they finally got stuck between two of them. The action of being stuck threw the three of them out of the canoe, surprisingly including Raven's rucksack. They now landed on a neighboring iceberg. Then once they were sprawled onto the white surface, they heard a crunch, and they realized the canoe was smashed to pieces.

Katara then groaned "I told you to go left."

"I did go left. I knew I should have left you home. Leave it to you to screw things up."

Raven tried to get a word in by saying "Hey, I think that's a bit uncalled for."

But then Katara turned to her and said "Stay out of this, Rae-ven, or whoever you are."

"Hey, don't talk to her like that." Sokka exclaimed.

Katara, obviously getting angrier "I'll talk to her however I like. And like your one to talk. You are the most sexist, immature, nutbrained-"

With every word she used to describe her brother, she was gesturing with her arms. They moved in wide arcs. But Raven began to realize that she was moving the water around them.

Before Raven could do anything to calm her, Katara continued "Ah! I'm embarrassed to be related to you!

-CRACK-

Ever since Mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp, while you've been off playing soldier."

-CRACK-

"Ah…Katara…"Sokka said weakly.

"I even wash all the clothes. Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you. Not pleasant."

-Crack-

Now, a bit more frantically Sokka yelled "Katara! Settle down!"

But Katara was on a roll and Raven was almost positive that anything that she said probably wouldn't have helped. "No! That's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!"

-CRACK-

It was this final crack that split the iceberg in half.

Thankfully the patch of ice they were standing on was really solid and they just floated farther out. But once the iceberg slowed down, Sokka commented "You went from weird to freakish, Katara."

Raven couldn't take it anymore "Hey, knock it off. That was amazing Katara. You have some real power there."

It was as if the siblings forgot that she was there. Their faces went pale and Raven smiled. She then placated them "I mean, that was a really weird time for an iceberg to split, am I right?"

Sokka nodded weakly, "Right."

But then, once again, they were interrupted. A bright blue light began to rise from the ocean. It was an orb of ice that was glowing blue. Weird.

It rose to the surface and settled on right on top.

They were now all staring at this glowing orb shaped iceberg. But Raven was the first to realize "Hey, you guys, I see someone in there."

There was a boy sitting inside the iceberg. This boy looked really young. He was sitting or hovering cross – legged and there was some large creature in there with him. Once Raven brought attention to him, he opened his eyes, they were glowing.

Katara then exclaimed "He's alive. We have to help." She grabbed Sokka's weapon that was strapped to his back and ran to the iceberg by hopping on small floating ice chunks. Sokka exclaimed a brief complaint, but no one really paid attention. Katara just started hitting the orb with it. Both Sokka and Raven quickly followed behind Katara.

But after one hit to many, the orb cracked open. A huge explosion of energy came out, and for some reason it was all centered at Raven.

Raven, who had her rucksack tied to her back like a backpack, was thrown into the air and across the white expanse. All she saw was a shot of bright light streaming into the air.

She tried to access her powers to attempt to fly. But they weren't quite working. She kind of felt them beginning to work as she began to descend but they didn't work fast enough. She hit the ground hard, but she was sure that she most likely would have died if she hadn't accessed that small bit of her power. And that was the last stream of thought she had before she once again lost consciousness.

…***…**

Zuko was standing on the top deck of his boat. He was so tired of the cold, but it was better than the stuffy cabins underneath him. He saw a bright light hit the sky. It was a giant column that couldn't be missed for hundreds of miles around them.

"Finally." He muttered to himself.

He kept looking at the column and then he saw a speck of black fly through the air. The speck became larger and larger until Zuko could see that it was the form of a human. The person flew through the air and landed not too far off in the distance. That was just too unusual to ignore. Hopefully it would lead him closer to the Avatar. Whatever or whoever caused that light must know something.

"Head after that." He exclaimed to the crew.

He heard a chorus of "Yes, my prince." And the boat began to set course for the figure, hopefully the person wasn't dead.

It didn't take very long to get the person's location.

Turns out it was girl. While this girl did have some unusual clothes, personal effects, and odd hair and eye colors she overall looked Fire Nation. Her clothes were vaguely reminded him of men's clothes, her hair and face reminded him of many Fire Nation women he grew up with. This led to the unfortunate conclusion that she could not be the Avatar. The Avatar was an Airbender who had tattoo's and was most likely really old by now.

Zuko quietly approached the girl, she was obviously not conscious but other than that he could not see any injuries. He yelled for one of his men to grab her and bring her back to the boat.

He may no longer have the honor of his nation but he wasn't a monster.

Iroh, who had stayed on the boat during this excursion, nodded in approval as they brought the girl and her things back to the boat.

"You can take the girl to my room; I will be staying with you until she has recovered."

Zuko grumbled to himself, but agreed with the placement. Oddly enough Iroh's room was perfect for adjusting it to a prison or at the very least it can be locked from the outside as well the inside (this can be done with two different lock systems, one facing inward and one outward) and until they knew more about this mystery woman, they will have her under the highest security.

Zuko and the crew kept a watchful eye for anything unusual, a.k.a. back to normal. The unknown girl continued to be unconscious, but according to the ship's healer she seemed healthy and that they should give her more time to rest. So, over the next day or so they kept moving.

Eventually they stopped by an old Fire Navy ship. It was layered in booby traps, which was the perfect trap for anyone who wanted to steal any of the remaining equipment left on the boat.

Zuko began his day by doing his daily exercises when a fire work was set off.

Finally, one of the traps worked. Zuko grabbed his telescope and brought it over to the wreckage. He saw figure holding another jumping down dozens of feet of snow to get to the ground. This person was obviously using the air to help them down.

Zuko then said to himself "The last Airbender. Quite agile for his old age. Wake my uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar. As well as his hiding place."

…***…**

**A/N: Hey… End of the first chapter. How did it go? It was a lot fun to write this and I'm really excited to see where this goes. **

**And as ATLA does,**

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for all the positive feedback.**

**[-(*)-]**

**Water.**

**Earth.**

**Fire.**

**Air.**

**Long ago, the 4 Nations lived together in Harmony.**

**Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, Master of all 4 elements, could stop them.**

**But when the world needed him most, he vanished.**

**100 years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.**

**But I believe Aang can save the world.**

**[-(*)-]**

**Out of the fire came a Raven**

…***…**

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 2: The Avatar Returns**

The morning was fairly foggy that morning. Any other day that would be an inconvenience, but today it worked to their advantage. Zuko was buzzing with adrenaline. The group of them were heading towards the water tribe village. He was determined to get the Avatar, one way or another.

It had been a long time since he had put on his battle armor. That time was when he was still in the Fire nation, so now he had to wear many layers underneath the red armor. It slightly encumbered him, but since he had so much time on his hands, he was able to practice with this amount of armor on. While he didn't mind giving orders, but he honestly preferred to do things alone. Thankfully, Iroh had left him alone to get ready for the capture.

While he loved his Uncle, he was currently getting on his nerves. He kept saying how Zuko needed to calm down, that he needed to relax, and that he should not train as much. Zuko was 15 years old, he was basically a man, he needed to be ready for any attack that will be thrown his way.

His thoughts were drawn back to reality as he waived a couple of his men to tie his armor on. And as he was assisted with his armor he contemplated on the plan of attack. But then his mind briefly drifted to how he must appear to the Water Tribe villagers. He had a dark red and black armor. His helmet unfortunately didn't cover the scar over his left eye. If the villagers were caught up with news from the Fire Nation, they would know that he was the banished Prince. He hated that he was known by this, but until he got the Avatar, that's the way things will stay.

He felt a rock in the ship as it began to cut through the ice. This ship was specially made to go through the arctic ice.

Zuko then waived the men away from him. It was almost time. He and some of his best soldiers approached the doorway that would open up once they made it to the village.

The ship then stopped suddenly; it was time to go.

The door at the front of the ship then opened. Zuko looked over the landscape. The village was incredibly small and he could see mostly young children. Hopefully they won't put up a fight. He knew the reputation that the Fire Nation had; he couldn't go against that reputation but that didn't mean he had to be the worst of it.

But as the thought crossed his mind, an older boy came at him with some type of weapon. Most likely a traditional Water Tribe weapon. Zuko quickly disarmed him by kicking him a couple times. The boy was then thrown to the snow that was off to side of the walkway.

Zuko then continued to walk down the walkway, great, now he knew that this was going to be more difficult that he originally anticipated.

It seemed as though all of the villagers were out watching him.

So, he took the opportunity to look for an elderly man or woman. The Avatar was over 100 years old and if he was still alive and hiding here, they would look incredibly old. When he couldn't find him, he asked "Where are you hiding him?"

There was just silence.

Ugh, he then reached for an elderly woman, who honestly looked completely Water Tribe, but he had to make a point. "He'd be about this age. Master of all elements."

Once again, he was met with dead silence.

Fine, he then released the elderly woman and she went back to her spot next a girl with bright blue eyes and hair loops laying across her face. Time for another scare tactic. He then released a small burst of fire; it didn't even reach the villagers but he was met with a chorus of screaming.

Now he was getting somewhere.

Zuko continued to demand "I know you're hiding him."

But he was then interrupted once again by the same boy. The boy came running at him with his weapon, yelling.

Stupid, that just alerted him to the attack.

Zuko quickly ducked sending the boy flying over him. Enough of this nonsense. Zuko released a small burst of fire in the direction of the boy. The boy recovered quickly and grabbed what appeared to be a boomerang. The boomerang just barely missed his face, now he was getting annoyed.

A little boy, more like a toddler, then said "Show no fear!"

The boy who was attempting to fight him was then given a spear by the toddler. The idiot then ran straight for him. Zuko broke the tip of the spear using his arm – bands and knocked the boy down using what remained of his own spear.

He ended the 'fight' by snapping the staff portion of the spear in half and threw the pieces into the snow. It was at that moment when he was suddenly hit in the head, the boomerang, damn it. He would never admit this, but he was glad he was wearing his helmet.

He was then hit in the legs by something. It threw him back and he landed in a very awkward angle.

Zuko then heard cheering from the villagers.

Who hit him?

"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka." Ringed the sound of a young boy.

The boy who failed at fighting him then replied "Hi, Aang. Thanks for coming."

Zuko's helmet was now gone. He stood up and gestured to his soldiers to surround the young boy. This young boy was definitely the Avatar. He didn't know why he was so young, but he looked like an Airbender. He had on an orange and yellow outfit, blue arrow tattoo's and had a staff. Definitely an Airbender. The Avatar, Aang, then began the fight with him and his soldiers by directly air to throw snow in their general direction. Zuko was so mad, he literally melted the snow off of his body. Why did these things always happen to him? He was feeling like a total idiot.

Aang then asked "Looking for me?"

Zuko then replied, angrily "You're the Airbender?"

He then heard a bunch of muttering from the villagers. That probably meant that they didn't know. A little part of him was relieved. But, Zuko couldn't help but go into a monologue, his Uncle had warned him about this many times but he literally couldn't help himself. "I've spent years preparing for this encounter, training, meditating. You're just a child."

The boy replied "Well, you're just a teenager."

Enough. Zuko began throwing fire at the Avatar. The boy kept dispersing the fire by twisting his staff in a circular movement.

"If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?"

Finally, Zuko could agree to those terms. He gave the boy a nod in agreement. Two of his men then flanked each side of the Avatar and one of them grabbed the staff out the boy's hands.

As Zuko began to head back to the ship he heard a girl's voice say "No, Aang, don't do this."

The Avatar then responded "Don't worry, Katara. It'll be ok. Take care of Appa for me until I get back."

Wow, the boy must be delusional, doesn't he know where he's going. He'll never see these people again.

Zuko then gave the orders "Head a course to the Fire Nation. I'm going home."

…***…**

As the ship began to pick up speed in the water the feeling of triumph began to settle in. Zuko grabbed the staff from his soldier and said to the boy "This staff will make an excellent gift for my father. I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks. Take the Avatar to the prison hold and take this to my quarters. Any updates on the girl?"

Iroh who had that met them on top deck of the ship and was handed the staff, responded "Nothing yet, we only got her yesterday, I believe we have nothing to worry about in that regard. "

Iroh then looked to the soldier standing next to him and then asked "Hey, you mind taking this to his quarters for me?"

Zuko then began to head back to his quarters. He wanted to take his armor off, it was starting to feel cumbersome. But before he could, he heard a commotion come from hallway. Zuko then quickly came up with a plan. He opened his door and put the staff in view of the doorway. The Avatar wouldn't leave without his staff.

And that was exactly what he did. The boy then walked into the room and said "My Staff!"

Once he walked through the doorway, Zuko closed and locked the door behind him. While the boy could easily unlock it, it would slow down his progress.

"Looks like I underestimated you." Said Zuko and then he shot a ball of fire at the Avatar. The boy screamed and then quickly darted out of the way. This happened two and then three times before the boy just started running around trying to get into Zuko's blind spot.

The Avatar then formed a ball of air and began rolling all over the room. He did this incredibly fast, so fast that Zuko accidently burned some of the decorations off of his wall. Then somehow Zuko was then wrapped in one of the Fire Nation banners. He quickly burned it to pieces. But by that point the Avatar had grabbed his staff, crap.

The boy then pushed his mattress, using airbending, so that it would throw him against a wall and then to the ceiling. And by the time Zuko fell from the ceiling the Avatar was gone.

No, not this time. He was so close.

Zuko quickly got up and ran after him. He saw the boy throw his staff which turned into a glider. The boy jumped and grabbed onto the glider. Zuko, not even thinking, jumped after him. Thankfully he grabbed the boy's foot.

This brought the both of them tumbling down to the deck of the ship.

Zuko got up and assumed his fighting stance, but before the fight could commence, he heard the sound of a large animal. He looked up to see a flying bison fly towards them, damn it. He couldn't help but ask "What is that?"

"Appa!"

Zuko quickly shot a burst of fire at him while he was distracted. This threw him back to the railing. He and the Avatar continued with their back and forth fight until they got caught up in the moment and Zuko blasted him off of the ship.

Damn, he needed him incapacitated on the ship, not dead.

But then the Avatar emerged from the water, bending the water around him. His eyes and tattoos were glowing, that was weird.

The Avatar then landed onto the top deck and pushed Zuko and his soldiers into the water using Waterbending. Thankfully he fell near the ladder and quickly climbed up the side. He saw the boy's staff and grabbed it as he climbed onto the deck but before he could the Water Tribe boy grabbed the staff and pushed him back into the water using it.

He tried once again to board the ship and was helped by his uncle as he saw the Avatar fly away. He wasn't sure if this was going to work but he decided to give it a shot.

Zuko yelled to his uncle, who had just joined them on the deck. "Shoot them down!"

He and his uncle then began the formation of using both of their powers to aim at the bison. This giant flame was directed by the Avatar into the side of a giant iceberg. This set a large amount of snow onto the ship which got the entire ship stuck.

Iroh then said in his sarcastic tone "Good news for the Fire Lord. The Fire Nation's greatest threat is just a little kid."

Zuko responded back bitterly "That kid, uncle, just did this." As he gestured to the colossal mess. "I won't underestimate him again. Dig this ship out and follow them."

But the crew was busy defrosting the soldiers that were frozen in the fight with the Waterbender. Wow, he didn't even realize that there was whole other fight going on as he dealt with the Avatar. He amended "As soon as you're done with that."

…***…**

Raven woke up to darkness. She didn't know what woke her up but something did. Raven wondered why this kept happening to her. Then all the memories kept flooding back. She had lost her mother, she was in a whole new world, and she's probably injured. She tried moving her arms and legs, yep, she was hurt.

She gently moved to a sitting position and then moved her legs into the crisscross formation and then began to chant "Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

She kept doing her healing chant until she felt healthy enough to get up and figure out exactly where she was and who brought her there.

Raven observed the room.

It was made of iron. She was on a nice bed. All her clothes were on, but her shoes and cloak were taken off and put to the side. There were banners hung up as decoration with the symbol of fire on it. The room itself was lit by candle, so it was fairly dark.

She got up. Found her shoes. Grabbed her cloak and decided to look through her rucksack to determine whether she keep ahold of it or leave it behind. Inside was extra clothes, a blanket, and a couple books. These books were her grimoires which included spells from her mother and Azarath herself. Raven felt a sigh of relief and then packed everything up and decided to take the entire rucksack with her.

She raised hood, and exited the room.

First thing she noticed was the bitter cold. So, they were still in the artic, good to know.

She walked along the hallway and saw that a door was open to the outside. She was on the top deck of what appeared to be a ship. But the ship was stuck in what looked like a snowbank. The ship was literally stuck in the middle of a snow mountain. On the deck there were a group of men controlling fire and using that fire to defrost other men. But there was a third set of men who were quietly discussing something while gesturing towards the snow pile. Raven then floated towards this third set of men and cleared her throat to gain their attention.

"Excuse me, do you own this boat?"

The young man with a pony -tail jumped and turned around. He had a huge scar that covered the left side of his face. It tragic yet beautiful, there were three distinct colors in scar itself, and she couldn't help but look. The older man next to him reminded Raven of what her mother described as Santa Claus. He had gentle eyes that liked to twinkle and a large round belly.

"Oh, uh you're awake. We found you after you crashed." The young man said, trying to gain back his composure.

The older man smiled at the younger, and raised his hand to shake hers and said "Hello, my dear. My name is Iroh, this is my nephew Zuko. We didn't mean to startle you; we ran into bit of an issue trying to navigate out of these icebergs and we couldn't be there when you woke up. How are you doing?"

Raven blinked, this man was trying to convince her of something, but she wasn't sure what. But they both seemed fairly nice, so she'll go along with them and see where they take her. Or at least until she is proven wrong. "Um, I'm okay. I was able to heal myself of the more serious wounds but I will be needing food soon."

They both looked at her with startled expressions. Damn it, she forgot that magic isn't common here. But before she could try to explain away what she said the older man said "What wonderful abilities you have, so unique. But before we ask you questions, let's go get you some food. "

Zuko, stared at her as she followed Iroh inside to the kitchens.

Both Zuko and Raven wondered as they headed inside, what did they get themselves into?

**[-(*)-]**

**A/N: There goes another chapter. Thank you to everyone who like and followed me. Let me know if you have any cool ideas about where I can take this story in the reviews.**

**And as ATLA does,**

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry about the little hiccup on the last chapter. Here we go.**

**[-(*)-]**

**Water.**

**Earth.**

**Fire.**

**Air.**

**Long ago, the 4 Nations lived together in Harmony.**

**Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, Master of all 4 elements, could stop them.**

**But when the world needed him most, he vanished.**

**100 years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.**

**But I believe Aang can save the world.**

**[-(*)-]**

**Out of the fire came a Raven**

…***…**

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 3: The Southern Air Temple**

Raven sat down at the table. The room that she was now in looked like a typical cafeteria. It helped that she had visited the outside, so it wasn't as bizarre when she noticed the walls, the floor, and the ceiling were made of iron. The walls were once again decorated with the symbol of fire. Once the floodgate of questions was opened, she would be sure to ask about that.

Why were there so many symbols of fire?

What's the importance?

Raven gazed at the two men talking to the chef about getting her some food. The men were wearing a color combination of red, black and brown.

What is with all the red?

Raven thought it was odd about how colors have been standing out to her more. Especially since she has traveled to this world. Know that she was thinking about it, the brother and sister were both wearing shades of blue. This color theme issue might be something that needs to paid attention too.

Raven kept thinking about random thoughts relating to color schemes until her thoughts were interrupted by the young man setting a bowl of soup in front of her.

He gave a grimace of a smile before sitting down.

She looked up at him and said "Thank you. It smells amazing."

The men sat down across from her. They each had a cup of tea. The pot sat in the middle of the table, but other than that it was bare. Raven felt awkward eating by herself and decided to eat quickly. Once she finished her soup, Raven wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin and asked "So, you guys have some questions?"

Raven had used the time as she ate to think of a strategy on how to interact with these men. The food allowed her mind to clear from color schemes and move onto her current situation. She was all alone living off of the kindness of these two, seemingly wealthy men. As this began to sink in, she decided to not reveal information about her life and Azarath. Raven hopes that over time she will be able to trust these men, but until that point, she'll keep her secrets to herself.

The younger man, Zuko, looked as though he was incredibly bored and annoyed responded "Of course we do. Who are you? How did you survive that fall? Where did you come from?"

"Zuko, we treat our guest with respect. Although his attitude needs a little work, I do agree that we need those questions answered at some point." The older man, Iroh, asked nicely.

Raven smirked at the interaction between the two men.

"It's okay, I know how to handle some snark. My name is Raven. I used my powers to help me slow down my fall. I come from far away, and my mother left me here."

Raven choose her words carefully, but they were all true. She decided to reveal that she had powers because they're too hard to hide. She won't try to restrict herself from using certain powers, they are a part of her and now that she was away from Azarath they are her only connection to her family. A family she will never be able to see again.

To Zuko, the girl, Raven's, answers to his questions were very exact. She's definitely hiding something. But the information she gave sounded authentic. She had this haunted look in her eyes as she talked about her mother. That would be incredibly hard to fake. It was then that he could see that she had grey almost black bags under her eyes. His uncle looked at him and then to Raven, and then he commented "I'm sorry to hear about that my dear."

Iroh reaches across the table and grabbed her hand. Raven sniffed and gave him a watery smile, "Thank you."

But one question still wasn't answered, was she a Firebender? "What element do you have?"

Raven looked at Zuko with a confused look on her face. "Element? My powers aren't element related."

Apparently, this response was incredibly confusing, ugh, fine. Raven knew that she was going to have to go into detail about the nature of her powers. "Where I come from, I was taught to use my magic in a spell frame work. I have innate powers that allow me to fly, levitate objects, create barriers and walk through walls. But with the use of spells I can direct my magic to say, heal myself, transform into a shadow creature or to reinforce my innate powers."

Zuko was completely floored by what Raven said. This woman, has powers this world has never seen before. Thankfully, his uncle was able to recover faster than him and said "My dear. The powers you have described aren't heard of in our lands. Does the place you come from have a name? Do you think we might have heard of it?"

Raven bit her lip, and then sighed "I was brought up to not discuss where I come from. But since I'm stuck with you guys, I'll let you know a little bit. I come from…an island named Azarath. It is incredibly far away and I doubt anyone here would know about it."

"I guess we will have to take you for your word. If I was home, I would check the Fire Nation Library or discuss this with the Fire Mages. But that is currently impossible. Could you show us some of your powers?" asked Zuko. Raven could see that he was trying to act official, but she could see the glint in his eyes that showed he was interested.

She smiled and admitted "I still feel as though I am still recovering and I did use a fair amount of my powers to heal myself when I woke up. But maybe I'll show both of you on the top deck tomorrow."

"That sounds agreeable. But hopefully by tomorrow we'll be well on our way to get repairs." Iroh said, and that was that.

Now Raven had to wait and see about how they'll react.

…***…**

Raven stood nervously on the top deck. It was just her, Zuko, and Iroh. She took a deep breath and told them "I'm going to show you my natural abilities."

She levitated off the ground.

Next, she flew through the floor and then back to the deck.

After that, she picked up a chair with her powers and then set it down.

Lastly, she shifted into a shadowy Raven and flew in the sky.

Once she landed on the deck, she timidly looked at their faces. Both men had straight faces. They didn't reveal any emotion, which in that told her she should be nervous.

"So, what do you think?"

Zuko couldn't stop thinking about how having her by his side would assure that he would indeed capture the Avatar. But he knew that if he just came out and asked, she wouldn't agree. He needed to become her friend. He looked to his uncle, who nodded for him to proceed.

"Raven, your powers are unlike anything we know of. It would probably better if we kept your powers a secret."

"I agree with Zuko. We want to keep you safe. The world is a dangerous place and I would highly recommend you not using your powers unless you are in danger. Now I have a odd question. Can you produce fire?"

Raven took the information with a grain of salt. But she couldn't help but agree that if they reacted with such concern that it probably wouldn't hurt to keep her powers a secret. But then when Iroh asked about producing fire, it sparked her as being odd. Thankfully Iroh saw her confusion.

"I ask this because you appear to look like a Fire Nation woman. If you could produce a flame, it would help people believe that you are truly a Fire Nation citizen."

"I probably could. I'd have to check my grimoire."

Zuko nodded, as if he was agreeing with the scenario that was forming in front of him. "Let's go back inside and check right now."

Raven went back and inside and to go to her room. When she gets there, she goes to her rucksack and grabbed for her grimoire. She hadn't unpacked her bag because she has this feeling that sometime soon, she will have to leave quickly. As then men walked in behind her Zuko creates a flame and Raven steps closer to him so that she could see the writing in the book. They stood nearly shoulder to shoulder as she skimmed through her spells.

She found it.

The spell involved intention and a mantra. Since it was categorically a housekeeping spell, over time, with experience she should be able to do it without the incantation.

"So…I found the spell. For beginners it needs a verbal confirmation, but overtime I should be able to do it wordlessly."

Iroh nodded "I believe you should practice this. The more you appear to be Fire Nation, the safer you will be. And with that we shall leave you, Zuko and I need to talk to the captain."

Iroh left the room, and as Zuko was walking away he turned back and said "If you want to practice with me…uh… let me know."

She nodded back to him, and then she was alone in her room.

Even though it was only midday, it had been exhausting.

Their little meeting on the top deck was the last thing they did before they began to leave the artic landscape.

…***…**

It only took a couple days to get to the shipyard for the boat repairs. It was decided that Raven would stay on board the boat while he and his uncle went on land. Zuko felt some insecurity's rise up as his small boat was docked next some of the Fire Nation's largest battle ships.

But there was one thing he had to remember; he was royalty. Zuko would keep his head held high, and continue on his hunt for the Avatar.

As he and his uncle walked off the ship, he told him "Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail."

"You mean the Avatar?"

Damn it, uncle. "Don't mention his name on these docks. Once word gets out that he's alive, every Firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way."

A third voice interrupted "Getting in the way of what? Prince Zuko."

Ah, Zhao. "Captain Zhao."

"It's Commander now. And General Iroh, Great Hero of our Nation."

Uncle corrected him "Retired General."

Zhao continued "The Fire Lord's Brother and Son are welcome guests anytime. What brings you to my harbor?"

Uncle took point on conversing with Zhao from this point and he gestured at the meager ship "Our ship is being repaired."

Zhao looked skeptical "That's quite a bit of damage."

Zuko glanced at his Uncle and he realized that he wasn't going to say anything. Zuko tried to explain "Yes, you wouldn't believe what happened. Uncle, tell Commander Zhao what happened."

Of course, Zuko's mind went blank. For some reason he literally couldn't think of a situation that could explain away the damage. Iroh looked surprise, but went along with it "Yes, I will do that…It was incredible. What, did we crash or something?"

This was not going well "Yes! Right into an Earth Kingdom Ship."

Zhao once again looked either angry or suspicious "Really? You must regale me with all the thrilling details. Join me for a drink?"

Zhao was getting on Zuko's mood, so he told him "Sorry, but we have to go."

Zuko began to walk away but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder "Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect. We would be honored to join you. Do you have any Ginseng Tea? It's my favorite."

Urgh, his Uncle. Not only would they be losing the trail of the Avatar. He was also concerned about leaving Raven onboard the ship. He is wondering if he should have tried to explain her presence and then he wouldn't have to worry about that. But after the conversation they had with Zhao about the boat damage, Zuko doubted that any more explanations would go any better.

The next couple hours were a blur.

It was full of ceremonial bullshit.

Zuko was pulled out his thoughts by Zhao regaling his hopes for his men and the Fire Nation "And by year's end, the Earth Kingdom Capital will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war."

Zuko couldn't help himself, "If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool." All this talk of the Fire Lord is bringing back all the issues of his homeland to the forefront of his mind.

"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue. So, how's your search for the Avatar going?"

But before Zuko could retort back a crash happened in the back of the room. Zuko turned to see that his uncle had knocked down a collection of ceremonial spears.

All his Uncle could say was "Uh…my fault entirely."

Zuko continued with the inquiry "We haven't found him yet."

"Did you really expect to? The Avatar died a hundred years ago along with the rest of the Airbenders. Unless you found some evidence that the Avatar is alive."

"No. Nothing." Zuko deadpanned.

Zhao continued with his 'interrogation' by saying "Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found."

Zuko continued "I haven't found anything. It's like you said, the Avatar probably died a long time ago. Come on, Uncle. We're going."

Looking back Zuko wished he could restrain his attitude but that didn't happen. Zuko's attitude seemed to have a mind of its own. The way that Zhao was talking down to him just rubbed him the wrong way and he kept antagonizing the situation.

But as Zuko tried to exit the room the two guards guarding the entrance crossed their spears in front of him. One of them then told Zhao "Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape. They also have a young Fire Nation woman on board who they apparently rescued."

And that news made Zuko turn around, Raven. What were they going to do with her? But before Zuko could ask about her Zhao obnoxiously said "Now remind me, how exactly was your ship damaged?"

He turned to face Zhao and demanded "I'll tell you what actually happened but, you must bring the girl and my men to this room. I want to be able to know that they are safe."

Zhao thought about this for a second and then said "I'll allow the girl, but no one else."

…***…**

Raven had been rudely grabbed from her room as she was practicing her faux Firebending. She remembered this moment well because it was the first time she was able to produce fire without vocalizing the spell.

Then out of nowhere two men came from behind her and grabbed each of her arms. They 'escorted' her to a room on land. Raven thought it would be better for everyone if she followed along with what was going. She'll wait for the right time to act but now she was in a room by herself, for what seemed like hours, until the men came back and said "Commander Zhao requests your presence."

Raven got up and walked to the door, and as one of the men went to grab her arm, she moved out of the way and glared at him.

"I can walk myself." Raven growled.

The man nodded and they started walking her to a room that was guarded by many soldiers. She saw Zuko and Iroh inside.

"Raven. Please come sit next to me, I'll pour you some tea." Iroh said as he gestured to a pillow on the floor next to him. She nodded and quickly moved over to him. This position was between Iroh and Zuko. Iroh began to pour tea for her and told her quietly

"You are Fire Nation. Your boat sank. We rescued you. Hopefully we'll get out of this soon."

The seriousness of the situation was not lost on Raven. She nodded and tried to look calm and as if nothing was wrong. She wanted to give the appearance of a demure girl who couldn't fight. It was in this situation that she was thankful for all the years her mother made her learn martial arts. She could take care of herself both with her powers and without. She picked up her tea and looked around the room. There was a man pacing around the room. When he finally spoke, he said "So a 12-year-old boy bested you and your Firebenders. You're more pathetic than I thought."

Wow, harsh. But Zuko responded back with "I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again."

"No, it will not, because you won't have a second chance."

Zuko's face contorted in outrage "Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years, and I-"

"And you failed." The man turned around and shot fire dramatically at the three of them. He continued his rant by saying "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now."

Zuko shot up to rush the man, but before he could he was grabbed by two soldiers.

What is going on?

Raven had so many questions. Who was the Avatar? Who is the man holding them hostage? Why does Zuko want to capture this 'Avatar'? But all that could wait until after they got out of this situation. They just needed to figure out how.

The man looked smug and ordered the soldiers "Keep them here."

The men forcefully pushed Zuko back into a sitting position. Raven grabbed his hand and said "Calm down. Being angry won't help the situation."

Iroh took a sip of his tea and agreed with her "She's right. Have a cup of tea."

"I don't want a cup of tea! Ugh, everything is going wrong."

Raven shook her head and told him "Breathe. But just so you know I will have a lot of questions for both of you after we get out of this mess."

They both had the decency to look ashamed. Raven rolled her eyes as she went to go grab a cup of tea. They just needed to stay calm, rash decisions would only get them into more trouble.

…***…**

The man. Zhao. Came back to the room. He looked, once again, smug as he said "My search party is ready. Once I'm out at sea my guards will escort you back to your ship, and you will be free to go."

Zuko quickly asked "Why? Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?"

Raven's head snapped up, she started glaring at Zuko. He shouldn't antagonize our captor. If he wants 'to get back at' this guy, he shouldn't be advertising that.

Zhao then gave an arrogant laugh "You… Stop me? Impossible."

Damn this man was getting on Raven's nerves. But Zuko's anger couldn't be controlled "Don't underestimate me, Zhao. I will capture the Avatar before you."

Thankfully Iroh stood up "Prince Zuko, that's enough."

"You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of warships under my command, and you, you're just a banished prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you."

Damn, that is some juicy information Raven thought. She would need a mental check list to make sure that she got answers to all these questions. But Zuko didn't want to believe this. "You're wrong. Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honor and restore my rightful place on the throne."

This conversation turned from interesting information, to becoming utterly sad. The man is desperately trying to come home, and he doesn't even realize that he was probably sent on a wild goose chase. Raven knew that their upcoming conversation will have to be done delicately, it seems that Zuko is dealing with a lot denial.

Zhao and Zuko's argument continued "If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes, you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation."

"That's not true."

"You have the scar to prove it."

With that reveal Raven couldn't help but gasp. He got his scar from his father? Oh, poor Zuko. But Raven's revelation didn't calm down the storm brewing between Zhao and Zuko.

"Aah! Maybe you'd like one to match!"

"Is that a challenge?"

"An Agni Kai at Sunset."

"Very well. It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle and your girlfriend will do."

Raven looked over to Iroh, he looked really intense. She had a feeling that this has happened before. "Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened the last time you dueled a master?"

"I will never forget."

…***…**

Things moved quickly after the two groups moved apart. Zuko was given a ceremonial outfit. Raven asked Iroh as Zuko was getting changed "What's and Agni Kai?"

"It's a duel using Firebending. It will go till one of the participants submits, and sometimes that means death. Zuko's last Agni Kai resulted in him gaining that scar. I am deeply concerned, but he has to learn these lessons."

"But he's only a teenager. He is way too young to be initiating a potentially fatal duel."

"Zuko has led a difficult life. I hope that I help ease his pain, but somedays are harder than others."

Raven gave Iroh a sympathetic arm pat. "I think you are doing a great job—"

A guard interrupted their conversation "It's time."

Zuko emerged from behind a screen and said "Finally."

They were escorted to an outdoor training ground. An ominous feeling set over the crowd of people who had gathered to watch the duel. Zuko had on only pants. His feet were bare. He was wearing a ceremonial shawl that seemed like it was going to be removed either before the fight or fairly early into it. Zuko was wearing two metal bicep bands. The two groups were positioned across the space. Raven looked at Zhao, who was wearing something incredibly similar.

Zuko and Zhao lined up and kneeled facing away from each other.

Iroh and Raven stood before Zuko. Iroh gave his nephew some parting advice "Remember your Firebending basics, Prince Zuko. They are your greatest weapons."

"I refuse to let him win."

With that he stood up and as he turned the shawl fell off. Zhao did the same.

A gong was hit. The fight has begun.

Zuko made the first move. He threw fire at Zhao who then grabbed it and threw it back in a fluid motion.

Zuko then sent a series of bursts at Zhao who dispersed them easily.

This made Zuko very angry, seeing Zhao having such an easy time. He then sent more intense bursts of fire, using both his hands and feet to direct the flame.

This continued to happen.

Iroh yelled from the sidelines "Basics, Zuko. Break his root."

Then the roles were reversed.

Zhao began throwing fire at Zuko, but he wasn't dispersing it as easily as Zhao did. Zhao was able to knock Zuko down to the ground. But from that angle Zuko was able to rotate his legs in such a way that he was able to knock Zhao off his feet.

Zuko from this point was able to continue to keep Zhao from obtaining a firm stance. He kept pushing fire at him, which led to Zhao to continue to stumble backwards.

Zuko then was able to knock him to the ground.

Zhao yelled at Zuko to "Do it!"

But Zuko chose to blast the spot next to Zhao's head. But apparently Zuko's sign of restraint was not up to par. "That's it? Your father raised a coward."

"Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won't hold back." With that, Zuko began to walk back to Iroh and Raven.

But Zhao, the asshole that he is, threw a flame to Zuko's back. But thankfully Iroh somehow suspected this and dispersed the flame by grabbing Zhao's foot. Stopping the flame from going anywhere. And he then proceeded to push Zhao to the ground. Zuko, realizing this started to go back, but Raven grabbed one arm and Iroh grabbed the other "Prince Zuko, do not taint your victory.

So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you.

Thanks again for the tea. It was delicious."

Then the group of three proceeded to walk back to their boat.

On the way Zuko asked "Did you really mean that, Uncle?"

"Of course. I told you Ginseng Tea is my favorite."

Raven rolled her eyes at them.

Hopefully, Zuko knows how much Iroh cares for him. But Raven is just happy to go back to the ship.

Maybe she'll put off the questions till tomorrow.

Maybe.

**[-(*)-]**

**A/N: Hey guys. Thanks for the lovely likes and reviews. I'm debating on switching over to first-person POV. Please let me know if that sounds good.**

**And as A:TLA does,**

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you guys for being so nice. I've decided to switch to primarily first person POV. But I also just want to explain that this will hopefully become a fairly long story. I know that I haven't changed the progress of the story yet but I wanted it to start changing now, not before. And that's about it, so here we go.**

**[-(*)-]**

**Water.**

**Earth.**

**Fire.**

**Air.**

**Long ago, the 4 Nations lived together in Harmony.**

**Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, Master of all 4 elements, could stop them.**

**But when the world needed him most, he vanished.**

**100 years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.**

**But I believe Aang can save the world.**

**[-(*)-]**

**Out of the fire came a Raven**

…***…**

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 4: The Warriors of Kyoshi**

I woke up to the sound of flames.

There were sounds whooshing. It could be barely heard over the sound of the waves.

Normally this would terrify a person, but now that I have been on a Fire Nation ship for more than a week, it has become a very familiar noise. Especially in the morning. A Firebender wakes with the sun and its not uncommon for them to play with fire in the morning.

Over this past week, since they left port Zhao, I had been learning more about the world my mother thrusted me into. The days have been filled with training, learning, and sleeping. She was taught primarily by Iroh.

Turns out that there are four groups of people in this world.

First, the people of the Fire Nation. I personally have the most experience with this group. They were the ones who seem to have the most power but if their own leader disowned and permanently scarred their own son, what kind of nation is it. A leader is reflected in their people, and if there is a a tyrant as a leader, many atrocities may occur. I could tell by the way Zuko reacts to things that structure and discipline was a large part of his childhood. He is quick to anger and doesn't have enough people telling him no. I'm not surprised that he wants to try to go home. But sometimes it takes an outside point of view to see that some dreams aren't meant to come true. I had talked to Iroh many times about the issue that is Zuko, especially towards his mental. It seems as though Iroh tried to do a hands-off approach in, let's be real, raising Zuko during his supposed temporary banishment. Knowing all these things about him doesn't make see him as weak or incapable of love. I see a young man who's had a difficult life, and I think I can help him. I hope to be able to gain the trust of these men, because who knows haw being kind to someone will alter their lives.

The next group of people I had experience with was the people of the Water Tribe. While I personally haven't experienced anything super negative from them, I have a feeling that they are a bit fragmented. Both culturally and physically. Iroh told me that the Water Tribe is at the North and South Poles. That's so far apart, despite the same powers how can they really share their culture with one another.

I have technically met an Airbender from the Air Nomads, but since I wasn't conscious for most of it, it doesn't feel real. Apparently, Air Nomads died out 100 years ago, through the actions of the Fire Nation and a natural phenomenon increased their ability to bend fire which resulted in the genocide of an entire people.

This fact deeply concerns me.

While the firebender's I know are quite nice, the rest of them might not be.

Lastly, there are earthbenders from the Earth Kingdom. These people bend dirt and rocks. Iroh told me that he had fought against the Earth Kingdom many years ago. But when I tried to ask more about it, Iroh stopped talking.

Now the issue of the Avatar is insane. The Avatar has the potential to bend all four elements and they are supposed to keep the peace in this world. But for some reason the Fire Nation has had it out for the Avatar, enough to kill thousands of people.

Internally, I made a promise to myself that I will help the Avatar survive. But I'll do it in a way that benefits everyone.

All these facts make me more and more weary to continue to stay around these firebender's.

It was through these conversations that Iroh and I came up with a cover story that we would tell anyone who demanded it.

I was the daughter of a wealthy Fire Nation colony merchant in the southern part of the Earth Kingdom. I had been travelling with my family when their ship went down and I was rescued by Zuko. Iroh will declare that I was his ward. And with that hopefully everything will be fine on that front.

My next step was my powers, so we started to work on my Firebending. My first non-verbal flame was produced when we were at port Zhao. But the more I practice it the odder the flame itself looks.

Basically…it's purple.

My flame is purple.

That's not normal.

But I can't seem to change it. I practice with Zuko and Iroh every afternoon. I've been told that I now can produce fire in a way that appears like an average Firebender, except for, you know, the color.

Now back to the whooshing sound.

Zuko tends to practice twice a day on the top deck. Which personally seems like way too much and I honestly have no idea how much training he does in his rooms.

His constant training concerns me.

I need to talk to him about it.

I guess there's no time like the present.

I got out of bed and put on my black long sleeve shirt, black pants, and boots on. But unlike the clothes I brought from Azarath I asked Iroh how I could alter them to appear to be more of this world. I ended up deconstructing my cape and made a wrap styled top that had black on one side and purple on the other. I was able to style it in a reversable way. I now look like a capable Fire Nation woman.

As I made my way up to the deck, I could see Zuko going through his stances. He was shirtless, barefoot and was in his usual training pants. Surprisingly not a bad look for him.

"Zuko, good morning."

"Hello Raven." He grunted as he finished, what I assumed, was the final stance in that particular Firebending sequence.

I patiently waited as he walked to a chair that had a clothe lying on it. He picked it up and wiped his face off. He seemed to be in a fairly good mood. That's good news for me, because this conversation is going to be kind of weird.

So I just come out and ask "Zuko, we have to talk."

He looked up at he. I could see hesitation and confusion in his expression.

I continue quickly, knowing that if I don't get this out now it won't happen. "So, I'm just going to say it. We need to work on your anger issues."

"I don't-" He tries to defend.

"You do. I have a couple techniques that I use to help me keep calm. I was hoping that one of them might work for you. And if doesn't work, I promise I'll stop bugging you about it."

Zuko's face went hard. But I could tell that he was thinking it over. After a moment he asked "Have you been talking to my Uncle. He keeps saying how I need to control my temper… I'll try once, and that's it."

I smile "Sounds like a plan. When do you want to get started?"

Zuko wrapped the clothe he was holding around his neck and started to walk back inside. "Let's do it after breakfast."

It seemed a bit surprising that he was practicing without food in his stomach, but I guess everyone's different. I follow closely behind him, feeling nervous that if this doesn't work what might happen in the future.

…***…**

I brought out two pillows for us to sit on. I placed them out onto the front deck. As I was preparing our spots, I was slowly began bringing down my empathetic shields. I would need to be able to feel his emotions to really know if this meditation technique is actually working.

I motioned for Zuko to sit across from me.

We sat face o face and I grabbed his hands. He looked a bit startled but I assured him "Trust me. At least in the beginning I'm going to need to hold onto your hands. Once you get better at this it will become a completely solo process."

"Fine."

My hands hold onto his. I able to feel how strong he is and how much power he has. I take a deep breath and squeeze his fingers to bring his gaze to mine. His amber eyes look at me and I began our lesson.

"Okay so I want you to focus on your breathing. In and out. In and out."

"I already know how to breathe."

"Shush. I'm try to teach you something. Okay… In and out. Now we are going to use my personal mantra. For me these words help me access my powers, but they will just be words for you. So, repeat after me. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. "

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

We go back and forth repeating this mantra. While this was going on, I was using my empathy to see if Zuko was actually calming down.

At first his emotions hadn't changed. But slowly as we continued, I could kind of feel some change in him. I could feel his tension slowly flow out of him.

I opened my eyes. Since I have been doing this for most of my life, I am fairly good at guessing how much time had passed while in meditation. It been roughly a half hour.

"Okay, I think we made a really good start. How do you feel?"

Zuko slowly opened his eyes. His shoulders were more relaxed and he didn't have his almost permanent frown on his face. It seemed like a pleasant neutral expression.

"I feel calm. Did you use your powers?"

"Kind of. Not on you, but I did open my empathetic shields so I could determine how well this form of meditation was working. Now that I know that this works for you, I won't be doing that again."

"Why? If it's not too much to ask." It was refreshing to see his curious side. So I often I see him glaring, pouting, and in a grumpy mood. This is the man I like to see.

"My empathetic powers are hard to control. I can either keep them fully up or completely down, there is no in between. Thankfully being on a boat in the middle of the ocean I don't feel overwhelmed but if I didn't have my shields up anywhere on land…let's just say it's bad."

Zuko's face over the course of our conversation shifted from calm back to his normal expression, the grumpy one. The only way I knew that he was really listening to me was that he briefly squeezed my hands and then he stood up.

I kept sitting there and Zuko looked uncomfortable for a brief moment and then broke the silence when he told me "We should be at port in time for dinner so hopefully that is enough time to…"

He gestured to me, probably in reference to my empathetic shields.

I give him a small tired smile, finally feeling the extent of my power use, and say to him "Yeah, that should be fine. Do you want to do this every morning?"

Zuko gave me a smile "That sounds good. Thanks."

I float to a standing position. Hopefully by teaching him my meditation technique I can start to help him heal.

…***…**

I came down to the cafeteria and saw both Iroh and Zuko sitting there already talking. This was a typical sight to see for dinner. Since we were at port, we were now able to get more provisions. I was honestly excited to have dinner. Having the same old food was starting to get to me. I sat down at my normal seat next to Zuko and across from Iroh. A cup of tea was sitting there waiting for me. We then all had our tea and were waiting for the food to come. Our chef came out with a tray of fish and started to discuss all the gossip he got from the port "Good Evening Prince Zuko. I picked up this fish fresh from market today. I heard the most interesting news. The fisherman heard that the Avatar is on Kyoshi Island."

But before the chef could get another word out Zuko stood up violently "The Avatar's on Kyoshi Island. Uncle, we have to go there immediately. He's not getting away from me this time."

Zuko began to walk out of the room, but I stood up and laid a hand on his shoulder "Zuko, I know that you want to capture the Avatar but be smart about this. Don't go and destroy the island to get this boy, be rational. Promise me you won't use Firebending."

Zuko tried to pull away, but I used my strength to keep him in place. He finally looked me in my eyes and said "Fine, I won't use Firebending as a scare tactic. But if that doesn't work, I'm blaming you."

Seriously, not that's definitely not going to happen. "No, you are the prince of the Fire Nation. You need to act like a leader and not like a spoiled child. Don't go blaming me if something goes wrong with your little scheme."

Zuko gave me a look of disgust. I let his arm go. I could tell that this was the beginning of many arguments. I just stood there and watched as he stormed off to his room.

"Raven my dear, while I agree with what you are saying, I have a feeling that Zuko is going to be stubborn on this matter."

"When isn't he stubborn?" I asked with little humor in my voice.

I will make sure to protect the people of Kyoshi. There will be no casualties while Zuko travels the globe desperately trying to find this boy. I won't stand by and watch him burn the world trying to redeem himself to a man who no longer cares about his existence.

…***…**

We got to Kyoshi Island by mid-afternoon the following day. By the time the group readied these lizard like rhino's it was nearing sunset. I watched with increasing concern as they got ready.

"Dock the ship." Declared Zuko.

I walked up to him and said "Just to let you know that I will protect the people of Kyoshi. You will not hurt anyone while you try to achieve your twisted goal."

Zuko's face turned hard and almost angry. But he gave a brief nod and walked to his rhino.

Over the past day I had been compiling a costume to wear. I want to be able to use my powers, but I can't let anyone see my face. I asked Iroh if I dressed in a robe with my hood drawn up and use my powers to make it appear as though it was completely black, if people would just suspect a spirit rather than someone with powers. Iroh thought about this for a minute or two and then agreed that it was a worthy costume. I was able to get more black cloth before we left port and I was able to easily make another cloak. At the time when I bought the material, I did not intend it to go towards a hero costume. I honestly just wanted to be able to replace the cloak that once had. I had felt almost naked walking around without my cloak

The sound of the bay doors descending brought me back to reality.

I raised my hood and floated into the air. I used my magic to project my voice to the others in the room "Do not hurt any of the residents of this island. I will be watching all of you."

My gaze lingers on Zuko. I feel as though all the progress we made earlier is slipping away. This obsession he has with the Avatar is driving him insane. While my hood conceals my gaze, I know he could feel me watching him.

The door opened and they began to their march their way onto the beach.

The couple people who were on that particular beach screamed in terror and ran back to where their village was.

I rose higher into the air. I watched from afar as the men proceeded up the path. The village was small and I could see that people were heading into their homes. Good, they don't need to see this. There was a column in the center of town. It stood higher than anything on the island and it was topped with the statue of a woman. She looked tall and strong. This woman was holding two fans and had beautiful face paint. The villagers must take great care of this statue because it looked freshly painted.

Zuko and his team stopped by the column and called out. "Come out, Avatar. You can't hide from me forever."

Nothing happened.

"Find him."

The men began to move down the street.

I could see figures in ceremonial garb similar to what the statue was wearing move throughout the village. I made the choice right there that I will not protect the Fire Nation soldiers. If Zuko's life was in danger, I might intervene but I want to appear to others as a third party. If these men, who are Fire Nation soldiers desire to be more cruel than necessary they should feel the consequences of their actions.

These figures began to take down the soldiers on the rhinos. I looked closer at these figures. They were women. Maybe it's just the feminist in me, but now I'm definitely interfering.

One of the women starting to head towards Zuko. But then Zuko did something upsetting, he used his Firebending.

Damn him.

I flew down towards Zuko and used my powers to push him off his rhino. I want him to know that he broke his promise and now I was angry. I probably used a bit more force than I probably should have.

But before I could do more to him, I saw that the other soldiers begin to use Firebending as well. I used my magic to put out all the fires I saw. I then began to pick up each offending soldier. It ended up with me just grabbing all of them. I brought the group of 12 men in front of me and I yelled at them "I told you not to hurt these people."

"We don't follow orders women." One of them yelled. I found the soldiers smug face and I singled him out of the hovering group and threw him to the ocean within a swims distance of the ship.

I looked back at the group of now 11 men. They now looked pale and terrified. "Anyone else want to talk back."

All I got in response was silence.

I took the men back to the ship and dropped them onto the boat, probably with a bit more force than was needed. Once they were situated, I flew back to the island and began to herd the rhino's back to the ship. It was easy with the help of my powers, all I had to do was create a coral of sorts that led back to the boat. I tried to look for Zuko as I did this but he wasn't in the same area.

I flew back to the village for a third time. This time it was for the specific purpose of getting to Zuko. I saw the Avatar flying away and Zuko in front of a burning column. It was the column that had a statue on it. It was the pride of the town and he just had to set it aflame. I quickly put out the fire and stood in front of it and said "Azarath Metrion Zinthos"

The statue was then restored to how it was moments ago.

I bowed to the column, hoping that whoever the statue was made for knew that their village was now safe again.

I grabbed Zuko and threw him back near the ship like I did to the other soldier. I was so mad at him he deserved everything that he got.

I looked over the village and double-checked to make sure that the it was in no worse shape than when we came upon it. I saw the Avatar flying away with his friends and I made the split-second decision to go and talk to them as they escaped.

I flew over to them and pulled down my hood.

The girl Katara gasped and I then realized that the boy was covered in makeup and looked like the female warriors of the village.

"I just wanted to let you guys know that I am working on trying to help Zuko."

Sokka scoffed "He doesn't need help, he's a monster."

"He's not a monster. Zuko has gone through a lot more than you know."

With that I pulled my hood back up and began to fly away but before I got out of earshot I heard "Thank you"

I turned back to see the Avatar smiling and waving at me. I smiled back and gave him a nod.

With everything that's gone down, I hope that I hadn't made irreparable damage my relationship with Zuko. I also hope that I'll still have a place to go back to once I get to the ship.

…***…**

When I got back to ship, I saw a soldier with a towel and Zuko wringing out his hair. Iroh was holding a towel and standing next to his nephew. I landed on the deck and Zuko turned around and glared at me. Apparently, that wasn't enough and he stomped closer to me. He yelled from across the deck "Who do you think you are?"

I knew that I was coming back to a fight and I was ready for it. "I think I'm the one that saved that village."

"We don't care about the village. We need the Avatar."

"Well I do care about the village. I may not be able to stop you from chasing the boy but I can make sure that there will be no casualties on your crusade."

"People wouldn't get hurt if they just listened to my commands. "

"Do you know what you sound like? You sound like a villain. A crazy person. And I hope by the end of this you can still look yourself in the mirror. Because, uh, I can't stand to look at you anymore."

I pushed my way through the men and went to my room. I warded it against anyone coming in and sat on my bed and cried. I couldn't help but think to myself.

Am I doing the right thing?

**[-(*)-]**

**A/N: Hey guys. Thanks for the lovely likes and reviews. Let me know how you guys thought of the first person POV. **

**Also, let me know if you have any ideas for anything in season one of Avatar. Depending on what it is I might be able to squeeze it in. **

**And as A:TLA does,**

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	5. Chapter 5

**[-(*)-]**

**Water.**

**Earth.**

**Fire.**

**Air.**

**Long ago, the 4 Nations lived together in Harmony.**

**Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, Master of all 4 elements, could stop them.**

**But when the world needed him most, he vanished.**

**100 years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.**

**But I believe Aang can save the world.**

**[-(*)-]**

**Out of the fire came a Raven**

…***…**

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 5: The King of Omashu**

Over the past couple days things have been difficult.

Not just our normal small group of people confined to a single small ship difficult. But something that needed to be discussed not just ignored, which of course, makes things more difficult. And it doesn't just apply to me but also to Zuko.

We left the island of Kyoshi two days ago. The manner in we left the island was incredibly strained. I haven't spoken to Zuko since then. That last conversation we had keeps ringing in my ears.

Sure, I could have had that particular conversation a bit more delicately.

But it had to said.

The moments leading up to the argument have become foggy. I can remember the tension just growing and growing and then I said those things to him. But the truth is, I don't regret them. Someone needed to say those things.

I can't just allow Zuko to terrorize this world or the young boy he's seemed to have fixated on. It always bothered me how Iroh and the rest of the crew just allow him to have his little tantrums. Those tantrums are caused by things that are deeply off inside of him. No one has ever truly helped him heal from the trauma of his past. While I can tell that Iroh has tried help him, but it obviously hasn't truly healed him. Zuko's particular trauma is as obvious as the scar on his face.

Having to deal with such cerebral issues makes me feel more of an adult than a 15-year-old should. I shouldn't have to worry about trying heal a boy who needs a psychiatrist or someone with similar skills. My mother told me of healers who could help repair those who suffer from issues of the mind. Zuko needs someone like this and I'm not one of those people. But I guess I'll just have to try.

Imagining the alternative sounds terrifying. The alternative being a world in which he doesn't try to change. A world where he becomes a perfect little Fire Nation Prince. How terrifying that would be.

I'll just have to wait and see if Zuko is even willing to change. Nothing I do will help him if he isn't willing to change.

But who knows what his current state of mind is like? He could be so stuck in his ways that nothing will change him. Or maybe this is all too sudden, and he might need more time. Either way I will stick around to make sure that while he starts to figure things out nothing bad will happen to him or to those around him.

Right now, I am just sitting in my room. I couldn't bring myself to walk outside and have another confrontation with Zuko. I have spent most of this time meditating and trying to think of a way to help him without using manipulation. Whatever will arise should be from his own freewill. I have decided through my actions to devote my new life to helping Zuko and the world I'm now in. I will use my years of training to help those in need the best way I can.

I may be a monster, but I'm not villain.

My mind is honestly extremely scattered.

My meditation keeps being interrupted by me thinking of Zuko. Without correctly meditating for a couple days, I've been feeling off.

It's as if I'm being pulled apart.

I'll try again later, but I just need to focus on another task. Thankfully that task was brought to me on a platter, a.k.a. someone brought me some food.

Maybe one day when everything settles down a bit, I try to make my mother's chicken soup. While my mother was Chinese her adoptive American mother taught her a wonderful chicken soup recipe. When it got a bit cooler on Azarath my mother would make this recipe for me, and now I find myself missing it.

I feel something trickle down my cheek. I quickly wipe it away. I can't linger on things like this, it'll just end making me sadder.

Unfortunately, I believe that today is the day that I will emerge from my room.

I am so tired of these four walls. Even though meditating helps me focus on other things, most of the time, the room itself is beginning to get on my nerves. The positives of being inside outweigh the negatives. There's something about being outside that allows your mind to clear up.

I gather my tray and head over to the kitchen to drop it off.

I then make my way to the top deck to see that it is a clear sky and the water is relatively calm. That's a good sign.

I carefully walk to my usual spot, grabbing my pillow as I do this. I set the pillow down and situate myself facing the front of the ship, looking out across the wide expanse of the ocean.

I closed my eyes and felt the wind across my face. There was a small sprinkling of sea water that gently hit my face. It was soothing; the smell of the ocean, the slight breeze, and the sun that gently warmed my face. I could hear the sound of the waves rhythmically crash.

Finally, after days without being able to fully meditate, I could.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

I began to levitate.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

Everything began to slide into place.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."

Time began to slip by. I was only roused by from my meditation when I felt a presence move in front of me. I opened my eyes to see Zuko.

He didn't look like he had much sleep. There bags underneath both eyes. Since I have known him for quite a while, I could distinguish the darkening beneath his eyes from the scars that he had. His hair was in his usual top-bun style. His clothes were casual but wrinkled.

Zuko had his arms were crossed as he leaned against the railing of the ship.

"We need to talk." It was all he said but it was enough.

I levitated to a standing position as I nodded in agreement. I gestured to the nearly permanent fixture of a tea table with accompanying pillows. Unsurprisingly a fresh pot of tea was there with two tea cups. I probably have Iroh to thank for that.

I smile bashfully as I sit down. Zuko sat across from me.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" I ask trying to gage where he is at.

"We need to talk about many things but I think we should start with whether you want to stay on this ship?"

That statement seemingly came out of nowhere. It was surprisingly considerate of him to ask that of me. It would make sense that Zuko would wonder whether this conversation is worth having. Because if I didn't want to stay on this ship with him and his crew, this incredibly difficult and uncomfortable conversation could easily be avoided.

It was then when I noticed that Zuko's hands rested on the table in clenched fists as if he was waiting for rejection.

I reach across the table and put my hands over his, grasping them. "I don't want to leave you. I just don't agree with what you are doing to that boy."

"But why Raven? It seems fairly straight forward to me." He asked turning his hands so that they were also grasping mine. I could tell by looking into his eyes that he was being sincere.

"I know you think it is, but it isn't. You can't continue on this path. You won't obtain what you are looking for through the Avatar. "

"How can you know that? I can capture the Avatar and bring him to my father. I can come home."

"You might be able to accomplish this, but the home you remember, the home you wish to return to… doesn't exist, at least it doesn't anymore. Your father severely abused you and then sent you away. Your father is a horrible man."

"Shut your mouth. My father is the Firelord."

"And he is a monster. He is a child abuser, a tyrant, and entirely dishonorable. You can rebuild your life, away from the horrors of the Fire Nation palace. I know you don't want to hear this."

"You're damn right. How can my father, the Firelord, be dishonorable? He defines honor in the Fire Nation…"

"Then maybe you should look to see what honor is like in other places. Honor to me is someone who takes care of their family, who helps those who need it, who tries to better themselves, who is humble… I could go on and on but the point I'm trying to get to is that your father is none of these things. And you can't deny any of that."

Zuko looked as though he was about to say something, but then stopped himself. He looked around the ship and then turned his gaze back to me and said "Say if I wanted to believe you how would I go about changing my life…for the better?"

Once again, he took me by surprise. Perhaps these past few days he had been thinking about changing as well. This change in his demeanor might not be as surprising as it felt at the time.

"That's a bit sudden. What made you change things so suddenly?"

"I'm not suddenly okay with everything. If you haven't realized I've stuck on a ship for three years on a wild goose chase. You have no idea what my life has been like. I have imagined almost every possible outcome. It would be nice to just leave everything behind. But how can I live with myself if I do that?"

"Why would starting a new life be so bad?"

"I would be abandoning my country…"

"Your father threw you out of it."

"I would be disappointing my family…"

"Your father disowned you, you have no obligations to your family anymore. You are free."

"…It would be dishonorable?"

"Honor is a state of mind. If you chose to live your life peacefully, I would find your actions honorable. "

"What if I don't want to be alone?"

"Never forget that you have a family. It may not be the one that you grew up with but it still exists. Family is something that you can great through close bonds with other creatures. It develops overtime and can change throughout the years. And if you still want me around, I will stay with you as long as I am welcome."

Zuko looked down and did an audible gulp. He nodded and released my hands and stood up abruptly. He nodded and headed quickly back inside.

I was left at the tea table with my arms outstretched.

I felt weird, oddly disappointed and a bit hurt. As though his sudden exit had to do with my offer and not with something else. As I retracted my hands, I tried to not take his actions personally. I sniffed a bit and wiped my nose.

Why am I being so emotional?

I try to focus on something else, anything else.

I slowly grab the pot of tea I forgot to pour. I shakily pour myself a cup as tears fill my eyes. I grab the cup as the tears begin to roll down my face.

…***…**

**Zuko's POV**

I stormed from the tea table in the direction of my room.

All of things that Raven talked to me about are racing through my mind.

Could I actually be messed up …

Should I attempt to…

Would it be better if I…

I can't tell what is real anymore. My mind is getting body isn't acting right. I feel hot. Not just normal Firebending heat but something else. I'm getting all sweaty.

What's wrong with me.

My mind is getting all … I don't feel good.

I stumble towards my room.

I'm leaning against the walls, it is getting more and more difficult to move.

I get to my room and push it open.

I just manage to fall onto my bed before I pass out.

The last thing I can remember is 'What if?'

**[-(*)-]**

**A/N: Hey guys **

**Thanks for the lovely likes and reviews. **

**As you guys might have guessed, I am writing this as I go. If any of you have any ideas that you feel would suit this particular story, let me know. If I like it, I might add it to the story.**

**And as A:TLA does,**

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	6. Chapter 6

**[-(*)-]**

**Water.**

**Earth.**

**Fire.**

**Air.**

**Long ago, the 4 Nations lived together in Harmony.**

**Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, Master of all 4 elements, could stop them.**

**But when the world needed him most, he vanished.**

**100 years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.**

**But I believe Aang can save the world.**

**[-(*)-]**

**Out of the fire came a Raven**

…***…**

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 6: Imprisoned**

I found Zuko in his room later that night. For some reason I had a bad feeling after I talked him earlier that day. At first, I thought it was due to how uncomfortable and awkward the conversation was. But unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

As I approached the door something just felt wrong.

The door to his room was open and there was no candle light as far as I could see.

So, I changed that.

Once I lit all of them, I could see an unconscious, sweating profusely Zuko. He was still dressed in his full gear. His body looked stiff and see the beads of sweat dotting his forehead. At the best of times the outfit seemed uncomfortable, now it just looked damn right tortuous.

I rushed to his side to feel for his temperature, I could already guess that he had a fever, but I had to make sure. His skin was burning up. And not in the usual 'hot' Firebending way, but in the 'I'm really sick' way. I try to think of how to cool him down.

Armor.

Once I make this realization, I move to undo his armor.

My hands quickly undo the straps on his arm guards. They come off easily, and I toss them to the floor.

Now for the hard part, getting him out of his chest and shoulder plates.

But before I do this I get up from the bed and take off my cloak, I have a feeling that its just going to get in the way.

Now back to the task at hand. I move to pick him up by the shoulders.

"Urg" I mutter under the weight of his body. Damn he's heavy.

I get him into a sitting position, and he still hasn't woken up.

Wow, he must really be out of it.

I make a real effort of getting his straps undone. The shoulder straps are easy to undo but difficult to get over his head. His head just loll's back and forth, but still he doesn't wake up. But the really funny thing was that the straps got caught on his bun, and the cord keeping it together came off and his hair spilled over his face. This look instantly catches me off guard, it reminds me that he's just teenager, like me.

I toss his shoulder plates to the floor adjacent to his arm bands. Next is his chest plates.

His torso is literally a dead weight against my hip.

I move down slowly to the bed to sit next to him. His head slides up my body until it is resting on my shoulder.

Somehow, I end up sitting in his lap with his head on my shoulder.

I quickly try to undo his chest straps, but they are knotted differently. It takes a while for me to get even one of the knots undone. But before I could even get one side untied Zuko starts moving. He wraps his arms around me and rubs his face into my shoulder. This would be quite nice if Zuko wasn't suffering from fever dreams, or whatever is wrong.

Now instantly more flustered I try to refocus on my increasingly difficult task. I kiss his temple and then I continue on with undoing the knots.

I keep working, and eventually they all get undone and I toss the plate to the ground with the others. I attempt to move him back to a laying down position but his hold on me tightens.

And of course, this was how Iroh found us.

I glanced towards the doorway when I feel a presence behind. I see Iroh was smiling down at us. Even though we weren't actually doing anything, I could feel my face heat up. I was so shocked that I didn't even try to hide my facial expression. I was basically stuck in this state until Zuko moved his head closer to the junction of my neck.

Once I regain use of my mouth I mutter "Uhh…this isn't what it looks like?"

"Hmmhmm." Iroh says to me with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Zuko's sick." I say to him in a rush.

Iroh's faces shifted from bemusement to concern.

"Can you help me get him off of me? He kind of just ended up like this."

"Of course."

Iroh moved to help grab his arms and detach him from my body. "Zuko's always been a cuddler. When he was little, I used to find him with…It doesn't matter but I just wanted to let you know that he doesn't mean any harm by doing this."

I quickly stood up and gave the partial excuse that I was going to get a bowl of water and a cloth. Once I was in the hallway I leaned back against the wall. I had to catch my breath. My emotions were beginning to get the better of me. Which was not a good thing. Terrible things happen when I loose let go. No matter what happens I must be able to retain my control. I take a deep breath and then start to head to the kitchen.

I quickly grab the bowl of cool water and a couple of cloths.

When I get back to Zuko's room I see that all the candles are lit and Iroh was sitting next to Zuko's bed. Zuko was now underneath the covers and in what I assumed was his night clothes. Iroh looked serious but other than that I could not discern anything else.

I broke the silence by saying "I brought the water."

"Thank you, my dear." Iroh said while he began to wet the clothe and rest it on Zuko's forehead.

I stood there wringing my hands before I broke the silence once again "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

Iroh looked concerned and gestured for me to sit next to him. I sit with my legs crossed looking at Zuko's unconscious form.

"Zuko was raised in a very strict household. He was brought up to be the heir to the throne of the Fire Nation. That was until Azula, his younger sister, began to show prodigy level potential. Once this happened Zuko was placed in the background. Even though I wasn't there often I could tell that Zuko was desperate for acknowledgment and most of all love. His mother tried to help him but she couldn't be there all the time. And when she was gone, Zuko was devastated. This led him to try and get approval from his father, and you know how that ended.

It is not unheard of for people going through deep spiritual changes to go into a physical sickness. We just need to wait it out. This is progress, I believe that what you have been telling him is actually sinking in and making an actual difference."

This news, like most of the information I learn about this world sounds insane.

People can get sick from changing their mind about something?

But Iroh knows his stuff, and I get the feeling that I should trust him. I could tell from the moment I met him that he loved his nephew like a son. So, I know, at the very least, that he wouldn't do anything to hurt him.

I nod and ask "How long do you think this sickness will last?"

"Hours, days, I don't know but he changed man once he comes out of this stupor."

Hopefully, the man he comes to be will be for the better.

…***…**

It had been a couple days since Zuko became ill when we got news about the Avatar. I was sitting with Iroh in the cafeteria when a soldier told us about this development.

I looked at Iroh with a shocked expression. He suggested "Why don't you go check it out. I'll stay here with Zuko."

My shocked expression lasts a bit longer due to the absurd thing he just said, how could I do this alone? "Are you sure that's a good idea? What if something happens?"

Iroh smiles and picks up a cup of tea and blows on it for a second. He takes a sip and then tells me "You'll be fine. Just act confident and be efficient. I don't want you spending too much time away from the ship. It would most likely help Zuko for you to be here when he wakes up."

I move to get up and say "Alright, I'll be sure to be quick about this."

I quickly head to my room to get on my traveling clothes. Since we have had so much down time, I was able to make an outfit fit for a Fire Nation Lady. I put this outfit on as armor of sorts. I need these clothes to guard me from the prying eyes of the Fire Nation nobility.

I went up to the top deck and met with the soldier, who I now remembered as Lee. Lee was going to escort me to the location where the Avatar was last spotted. We boarded a smaller boat and it was then when I realized that we were next to a large structure in the ocean.

I ask Lee "What is that?"

"That's a work prison for earth benders. It's one of the only places that they can't escape from, at least that's what we thought until today when a whole group of them escaped. Supposedly the water barrier and the metal would keep them trapped but they used to coal on the premises to their advantage. That and they had the help of the Avatar."

"How'd the Avatar get here?"

He shrugged and looked back to the water and said "I don't know but if we want any chance of getting him, we probably need to check the site thoroughly."

I smile at him and he blushes.

He continues awkwardly "I… uh… mean, if you want to?"

I laugh and tell gently "I enjoy your enthusiasm and welcome your ideas. I'll make sure to do so, thank you Lee."

He smiles and sits straighter as the boat approaches the structure.

My time in this hellhole was blur. I tried not to have my thoughts dwell on the people who have been captured and enslaved here. But I needed to see if the Avatar left anything behind. I need to focus on my overall goal. I can't fix this world in one day, or even one year, I can hopefully help this world throughout my lifetime.

I float up to the ground floor and I order Lee to look at the lower deck and I will check the top deck. He nods and we head our separate ways.

This place is a complete mess.

Coal is everywhere and dozens of things are broken. It's good to know that this place is beyond repair and will hopefully be left to rust.

I scan the ground and notice nothing of interest until I see something reflecting back at me. I land next to it and pick up a stone beautifully carved and attached to a blue necklace.

I recognize this.

The girl, Katara, was wearing this.

I brush off the dirt and then carefully put it in my pant pocket.

I continue my search, and find nothing else. Lee and I make our way back to the ship. The trip back was uneventful and we thankfully made it back before dark.

Iroh met us on the top deck.

"How did your trip go?" he asked politely.

"I found the girl's necklace, but other than that they didn't leave anything behind." I responded back in turn.

He nodded and continued the conversation as we walked back inside. "Zuko hasn't woken up but I have a feeling that he will soon. Would you join me at his side after dinner?"

"Of course."

I changed back to my normal clothes and placed the necklace into an empty box in my room. Hopefully, someday soon, I'll be able to give this back to her. It a beautiful necklace, and I'm sure it has a great deal of importance to her.

I quickly eat my dinner and then get back to my usual spot next to Zuko.

I look at Zuko, trying to find and noticeable differences from the last time I saw him. His hair was adorably ruffled and he had drool coming out of his mouth. Overall, he looked incredibly peaceful. I was almost glad to see that he could look normal. He usually looks so prim and proper. It's good to know that he can physically relax. Though I'm not sure if I should count this, because there is a big difference between sleeping and being unconscious because you're sick.

I was lost in my thoughts when I heard a noise.

It was Zuko.

He was waking up.

"Zuko, can you hear me?"

I grab his hand and after a few moments he squeezed my hand back.

A wave of relief washed over me. And while I'm not born of this world, I could feel something shift in the spiritual landscape. But that sense of relief stuck with me, so I just have to sit back and hope that my meddling is for the betterment of this world.

**A/N: Hey guys **

**Thanks for the lovely likes and reviews. **

**As you guys might have guessed, I am writing this as I go. If any of you have any ideas that you feel would suit this particular story, let me know. If I like it, I might add it to the story.**

**And as A:TLA does,**

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	7. Chapter 7

**[-(*)-]**

**Water.**

**Earth.**

**Fire.**

**Air.**

**Long ago, the 4 Nations lived together in Harmony.**

**Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, Master of all 4 elements, could stop them.**

**But when the world needed him most, he vanished.**

**100 years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.**

**But I believe Aang can save the world.**

**[-(*)-]**

**Out of the fire came a Raven**

…***…**

**Book One: Water**

**Chapter 7: Winter Solstice**

The next couple days were a lot better than I thought they'd be.

Zuko was recovering from his illness. So, things began to go back to normal. Or least what we knew as normal. We heard that the Avatar was flying inland. So, we began to pack our things and prepare to travel on land. I was excited for the chance to travel throughout the Earth Kingdom.

The transition from boat to land travel was pretty drastic. I had to pack all my things into a couple duffle bags. I'm almost positive that that both Zuko and Iroh are packing twice as many things, but I know the value of packing light. You never know what might happen and when you might need to leave.

The area in which we were traveling was a part of the recently conquered Earth Kingdom. According to Iroh it is a new colony and there is a lot of unbalance and unrest there. This was apart of the normal conversation of health and safety before venturing off on a new departure. It is moments such as these that I am thankful for all the training I had to endure on Azarath. Because now I have full confidence in my abilities and I know my limitations when it comes to a variety of situations.

The beginning of our travel was a bit rocky. There were definitely some growing pains. Zuko wanted to keep a steady pace as we traversed through the landscape. But Iroh, who, of course, was older and was a very 'go-with-the flow' type of traveler. He kept insisting we stop and have tea and enjoy the scenery. After the fifth time he asked this, even I was getting annoyed with him.

"Zuko, we should just stop. It doesn't look like he's going to stop asking so we might as well rest for a little bit." I tell him quietly so that Iroh can't hear us.

But of course, he did.

"She's right Zuko, you might as well accept defeat." He says with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

Zuko shifts his attention to his uncle and retorts "You really think that I will derail our entire schedule just so you can have a cup of tea?"

Iroh smirks "No, but you will for a chance in a natural hot spring."

Now I'm confused "A what?"

"There are natural hot springs all over this region of the Earth Kingdom and I happen to know that there is one not far from that mountain." Iroh explains.

I just smile, knowing that we were going to give into his antics. I reply sarcastically "Of course there is, are you sure that it's that particular mountain?"

"Positive, I know this region of the Earth Kingdom very well."

Zuko groans and roughly rubs his hand over his face. "Fine, but we are making camp here and you go to your spring and we will leave in two hours."

"Thank you, Nephew. You should make the most of this time, relax." As he spoke the last sentence, he made the point to look from Zuko to myself several times, emphasizing that we should spend time together.

I see this and roll my eyes. I tell him "Your two hours start now, so you better get moving."

Iroh just laughs and grabs a bag that looked to be pre-packed with items you would need for enjoying a spring. Within a few minutes he was out of sight and soldiers left us to go unpack the animals.

"So, what do you want to do now?" I ask.

Zuko sighs, and I can see the tension slowly ease from his shoulders. He asks in a calmer tone "I don't know, are you hungry?"

"Sue, I can eat."

He smiles "What do you say to a picnic?"

I smile back at him "A picnic sounds lovely". He offers his arm to me and I feel like a love-sick teenager, and then something clicks in my head. I am a love-sick teenager, and this is what normal teenagers do. They have lunch with there…

I don't know what to call Zuko.

I obviously like him. But I don't know if he likes me back. How does one go figure that out?

I literally have no training with dealing with the opposite sex. I honestly believe that both my mother and Azarath believed that I would never live long enough to even have a possibility to be involved in a romantic relationship.

These thoughts consume me as we move to meadow of sorts. There was flowers and a gentle breeze. It was truly wonderful. Zuko quickly unpacked the blanket and I grabbed our snack. While we were traveling our snacks consisted of nuts seasoned with various spices. Thankfully I love this snack because before we left the ship the chef prepared five pounds worth of this nut mixture for us and the crew.

Both Zuko and I sat on the blanket and I opened the bag of nuts.

As Zuko began to eat I couldn't help but ask "Is this a date?"

Zuko coughs and then starts mildly choking. Knowing that I startled him I summoned my container of water and rolled my eyes as I handed it to him.

Zuko attempts to regain his composure.

He's failing miserably, and his voice is hoarse when he asks "Do you want this to be a date?"

"Yes." I say 'matter-of-fact'-ly. I feel as though I'm missing some social ques but I start to relax when he blushes and then intertwines our hands. I look down at our hands and smile. We then continue to gaze over the field. We probably looked ridiculous but I was glad that this was our first date. We just quietly enjoyed each other's company and held hands as we gazed over a field of flowers on a beautiful day.

…***…**

Zuko's afternoon was going infinitely better than he would have ever hoped for. He thought he was in for a day that would be wasted with inconvenient breaks forced by Iroh and he would end up even farther from his goal of …

It was hard for him to truly feel okay with capturing a boy who appears younger than him and just allow his father to kill him. Because he knew that was what his father planned to do once he completed the capture. After he recovered from his fever, he began to realize there was a gaping hole in his life. How can get his honor back by helping his father kill a boy?

Now that he had begun to second-guess his goal for a number of years, he's finding it difficult to admit his change of mind. He was pretty sure that both Iroh and Raven would welcome the change, but the crew… he wasn't so sure of.

Zuko was stuck in his own thoughts as he made his way over to where his Uncle was.

It wasn't surprising to anyone that Iroh was not back at right time. What was surprising was that Zuko offered to go get him.

Zuko had relaxing afternoon and for some reason it made him uneasy. He offered to go get his Uncle as an excuse to clear his head.

He breaks through the dense section of the forest and calls out "Uncle, it's time to leave. Where are you? Uncle Iroh!"

Zuko notices that Iroh's clothes were on the ground.

Great.

"Over here."

His voice comes from through the trees. Zuko cautiously looks over and exclaims "Uncle? We need to move on. We're closing in on the Avatar's trail, and I don't want to lose him."

"You look tired, Prince Zuko. Why don't you join me in these hot springs and soak away your troubles?"

Zuko rolls his eyes and shifts his gaze away from his naked Uncle "Ha Ha, get out. We really do need to leave."

"Give me a minute. I will meet on the other side of the trees."

"Thank you."

Zuko quickly heads to the entrance of the dense section of forest and waits. He gazes up at the sky and notices that it is nearly sunset. The sun shining through the bamboo looks fascinating. Zuko could feel the tension begin to slowly ease from his shoulders as he admired the view. The sound of rumbling brought him out of his thoughts.

He looks around and can't see anyone coming and he rationalized that it must have been a nearby avalanche.

Zuko continues to wait, and wait. Once the sun set, Zuko was incredibly concerned. He turned back to where the hot spring was and called out "Uncle, where are you?"

There was no answer.

Iroh's clothes were still in the same spot that they were earlier. He looked for the particular pool that his uncle was inhabiting, it was empty. But something else was off, the pool was no longer filled with water. There are jagged rocks in the spot where he once saw his uncle.

Earthbenders.

Earthbenders came and took his uncle.

…***…**

Zuko left to go get Iroh ages ago.

I'm wonder if they got lost. I was about to go out and start to look for them when Zuko came running back to camp.

This isn't good.

I have never seen Zuko run before. He always tries to keep a regal appearance.

"Raven, we need to find my Uncle. I think Earthbenders took him."

This through me for a loop "Are you serious, how could we have not noticed them? I'm going to see if I can find them from above."

I fly above the tree line and see a cloud of dust.

"Zuko! I see a cloud of dust going along the path to the North." As I float down, I could already see that Zuko was helping pack camp so that they could get ready to go after Iroh. Within a matter of moments, we were on the road and on the trail of Iroh's kidnappers.

Sunset turned to night.

When we found Iroh he was nearly naked and shackled to a boulder. A group of five earthbenders soldiers were surrounding him and one of them was levitating another boulder over Iroh's hands. As the soldier goes to drop the rock onto Iroh's hands I make a barrier surrounding Iroh. This gives Zuko time to take down the others.

During a pause in the fight I brought my shield down and Zuko breaks the chains with one swift kick. Iroh comments as he gets to his feet "Excellent form, Prince Zuko."

I could feel my cheeks heat as I mutter "And freakin' hot."

Apparently, I wasn't as quiet as I would have hoped and Zuko coughed and blushed. Damnit. Zuko attempts to respond to Iroh "You taught me well Uncle."

Right, there's fight going on.

The leader of the earthbenders called out "Surrender yourselves. It's 5 against 3. You are clearly outnumbered."

Iroh speaks for the group "Uh, that's true, but you are clearly outmatched."

No wonder Iroh was a General, he makes amazing speeches. The fight ended quickly after that. Thankfully no one on our side was hurt.

I was looking around at the aftermath of fight and I heard Zuko say "Now, would you please put on some clothes?"

That makes me burst out in laughter. The tension from the stress of this whole debacle seemed to drip away and I felt instantly relieved when I saw Zuko smile at me.

…***…**

By the time we got back to the camp we were alerted that the Avatar was heading back over to the ocean.

Now came a big decision whether to follow the Avatar further or do something else.

As we prepared or things I asked "Zuko, what are we doing now?"

Zuko looked uncomfortable and glanced at Iroh who suggested "Why don't we go back to the ship and discuss this with the crew."

This will only delay the inevitable, but I could see that Iroh was allowing Zuko the time till we get back to the ship to figure out what to do next. And I don't' see how pushing the issue will make anything better, so I drop the subject.

We make it back to the ship swiftly and that is when Zuko asks for a group meeting. We all gathered on the top deck and Zuko began with "I know that we have been doing this for a while and would just like to reiterate that we are trying to capture the Avatar _unharmed_. So, the next time we encounter him, we will be using careful measure to try and entrap him. He is dangerous despite his age we should try to appear to be inquisitive instead of intimidating, because obviously that is not working. Everyone clear?"

There was a series of nods and vocal agreements. Zuko then dismissed them.

I waved Zuko next to me and whispered "Can we talk in my room?"

He blushed, then cleared his throat and then nodded. We quietly walk back to my room. Once he is in the room, I tell him "Close the door."

He does.

"What are we really doing?"

Zuko sighed and sat on my bed. "I want to have at the very least a conversation. I understand now how skewed my line of thinking was. I would like to understand what his plans are and if its something I should … I don't know but I at least have to try."

I smile sadly at him. I feel better about his decision to continue his pursuit of the Avatar, but it still feels wrong.

I sit on the bed next to him and look into his eyes "Okay, we'll do that. But don't stop thinking about these things, always be open to new things."

He nods and cups by cheek and brings his face to mine. Our noses brushed before his lips lightly pressed against mine.

I look into his eyes and then bring my arms around his neck and then our lips meet again. This kiss was longer and somehow, I ended up climbing onto his lap. We continued like this until a knock at the door. I jumped back and pulled up my hood.

I cleared my throat, glanced at Zuko who was fixing his hair, and then said "Come in!"

It was Iroh, of course, he came in and winked at Zuko before saying "The Avatar is heading towards the Fire Nation and just wanted to warn you that trouble may be ahead. We should be crossing over to Fire Nation territory tomorrow."

I speak up and say "Thank you Iroh." I stand up and move to close the door.

Iroh tells us before I manage to shut the door "Try not to have to much fun. Be careful. But then again I wouldn't mind a grand-nephew or grandniece-"

"Oh my Azarath, good night Iroh."

"You too my dear."

When I turned back to look at Zuko he had laid back on the bed and had an arm over his face. "Ugh…he's so embarrassing."

I sit next to him and grab his hand and kiss it "He only does this because he loves you."

Zuko peaks out from behind his arm and smiles at me "I know."

I lay down next to him. I still had his hand in mine. Zuko sits up and briefly kisses my forehead and says "I'll be right back."

I mumble "Okay."

Once he leaves, I get up and change into my night clothes and climb underneath the covers. It wasn't but a couple moments later that Zuko came back in his own night clothes and stands awkwardly by my bed.

I open the covers and say "I'm just sleeping, but your welcome to join me."

Zuko nods and quickly does that.

His feet are cold but his presence quickly allows sleep to take me.

I wake to noise of fire and metal clanking. A Fire Nation battle. I grab Zuko's arm and look at him. I could see him quickly waking up and before we could even get out of bed I hear "Brace for impact!"

I grab ahold of Zuko and surround us in a protective coating of magic but that wasn't enough. There was an explosion and world began to slip away.

But before I completely lost consciousness, I could recognize that this was a familiar feeling.

…***…**

When I opened my eyes I saw the sun high in the sky. Rocks were digging into my back and I could feel the ocean lapping at my feet.

I move to block the sun out of my eyes but find that Zuko was in my arms.

I try to shake him awake but he groans and turns over.

Satisfied that he is 'okay' for now I sit up. I regret this immediately and feel a wave of nausea, but a few deep breaths clear that enough for me to slowly observe where I am.

I see buildings across the water. These are Fire Nation buildings. These are buildings like my mother described to me. They were hundreds of feet tall and covered in glass and metal.

I look behind me and gasp.

I'm sitting in front of a ginormous building.

It's shaped like the letter 'T'.

I just sit there and continue to gaze at this building. Out of the corner of my eye I see someone approach us.

"Who are you? What do you want from the Titans?"

**A/N: And's that's it.**

**I'm sorry to end things like this but due to unforeseen circumstances I can longer continue this story.**

**Hopefully it wasn't too bad. I wanted to give you guys an open ending that would be filled with endless possibilities.**

**Thank you for reading this and for all the kind comments.**

**Stay safe and stay healthy.**


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